New poll reveals Australians highly concerned about wildlife trafficking, but there are major knowledge gaps around the scale and seriousness of the crime.

The YouGov poll, conducted for IFAW and the Wildlife Crime Research Hub at Adelaide University revealed 86% of Australians are concerned about illegal wildlife trafficking but 64% claim they know little about this serious crime. The survey found 22% of respondents had not heard anything about this crime at all.

“Wildlife trafficking doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The networks moving animals across borders are often the same networks moving drugs, weapons, and people,” said IFAW wildlife cybercrime program manager Christian Plowman.

“When half of Australians are unaware of those connections, it means organised crime is operating in plain sight - hiding behind a knowledge gap we can’t afford to ignore.”